Oliver Webb suffered a smash on the street circuit in Canada as he looked to continue his strong start to the 2012 Firestone Indy Lights championship.

Round Seven saw the drivers visit Toronto and the young rookie – a former Ryleys Park pupil – scored more valuable championship points as he claimed a hard-fought fifth place.

This was Webb’s first experience of the tricky street circuit, and was particularly tricky as the track had severely low levels of grip in places.

However, his weekend started well, as he posted solid times in the top five during the dry first practice session despite being the only one of the front runners on old tyres.

Rain during Saturday morning added an extra challenge to proceedings.

However, the 21-year-old showed competitive pace throughout the session and, although second at one stage, he slipped down the order after a yellow flag hampered his progress and he was to start the race in fifth.

There was no sign of rain as Webb lined up on the inside of row three for the main event, and he wasted no time making his mark on the opening lap.

A bold move into turn one secured fourth place, and a clean exit saw the young Brit take third as he entered the hairpin at turn three.

A coming together of Sam Schmidt Motorsport team-mates Esteban Guerrieri and Tristan Vautier, then forced Webb to take action.

However, after passing Guerrieri cleanly, he suffered damage to his front wing when Gustavo Yacaman narrowly avoided Vautier, who had spun as he made his way back to the pits.

The damage to Webb’s front wing saw him lose four places but he quickly got back up to speed, and set his sights on making up the lost ground.

A string of consistently competitive times saw the gap reduce lap by lap and, after cleanly passing David Ostella to regain fifth, Webb quickly closed down home driver Peter Dempsey.

Webb’s relentless pushing for the Canadian’s fourth spot proved in vain as the damage to his car had compromised the handling and braking.

After being forced to settle for fifth, Webb said: "Overall, I am pleased with the fifth place finish here, although it is frustrating that we couldn’t find a way back up to a podium position.

"The car felt competitive all weekend, and we were unlucky to pick up damage early on, which compromised the handling for the remainder of the race.

"I’m really looking forward to the next race of the season, as we head over to Edmonton.

"This is the first circuit of the season that I have previously raced on, so I am feeling confident and hope I can repeat the podium finish I scored there on my Indy Lights debut last year."